Message from the NLD Chair

Happy New Year, NLD Members!

Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Elijah Gaglio, and I am going into my fifth year as an attorney. I have been involved with the New Lawyer Division (NLD) since 2021 and am happy to continue to serve as the NLD Chair. I also want to acknowledge the amazing work of NLD’s previous Chair, Stephanie Pengilley, and our former Members-at-Large, Hannah Theophil and Heather Daiza. Thanks to them, NLD was able to host great events and grow its membership last year.

My goal for this year is to continue to grow NLD and make it a resource for law students and new lawyers alike. This year, we have more great events planned to help us connect and network. As a new lawyer myself, NLD has been a great place for me to connect to other new and more experienced lawyers. I remember when I first began practicing, I thought I had no extra time to join NLD or go to networking events. However, a former NLD Chair and close law school friend, Stephanie Atkinson, was very diligent in asking me to get involved with NLD as a subdivision member. At first I was reluctant, but I decided to apply and attend an NLD meeting. At the meeting, I was immediately welcomed by other new lawyers who were going through the same things I was going through. I realized that even though I did not feel like I had extra time, meeting other new lawyers was an invaluable and necessary experience. It was an important reminder there are so many new lawyers who were going through the same thing as me: learning to navigate their practice, complying with billing requirements, and figuring out how to balance life and work.

My hope is that NLD will do for you what it has done for me these past three years: be a place for you to connect with others, make friends, and help you through what can be a stressful (and sometimes isolating) profession. As an NLD member, you will also have access to many tools, such as complimentary notary services, assistance with technology, essential marketing tools like the Lawyer Referral and Information Service, to help build your clientele, and so much more. For a full list of SDCBA member benefits, click here.

Another goal for this year is to find more ways for new lawyers to serve their community both in and outside the legal profession. By the time you are reading this, we would have just celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. who once said, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” As lawyers, we are in a better position than most to serve others. We have a lot of great NLD events coming up to help those most in need. If you are looking to learn more about how NLD is serving our community, please reach out to me.

I would also like to introduce our 2024 Executive Committee who will be working hard this year to grow NLD and bring you fun and interesting events:

Dani Glazer Signaigo (Returning Member-at-Large)
Catharine McGlynn (New Member-at-Large)
Claudia Salinas (Vice Chair)
Lillian Glenister (New Member-at-Large)
Linda Nelte (Returning Member-at-Large)
Matthew Spolsky (Returning Member-at-Large)
Shubhra Sharma (New Member-at-Large)

If you would like to get more involved with NLD, we are always looking for subdivision members to help coordinate events. It is a great way to get started and learn more about NLD.

Finally, be on the lookout for upcoming events including an event we have next month (tentatively, February 17, 2024) where we will be going to a San Diego Gulls Game, which NLD is co-sponsoring with the Entertainment & Sports Law Section. Registration link coming soon.

Elijah Gaglio